Cleaning apparatus for removing deodorant, powder and particulates from fabric

ABSTRACT

A cleaning apparatus ( 10 ) for removing a substance from fabric. The cleaning apparatus comprises a foam substrate having a thickness (TH) between a top surface ( 11 ) and a bottom surface, wherein an outer edge ( 13 ) is defined along an exterior perimeter of the thickness. The cleaning apparatus also comprises a central portion (ID) having a continuous shape interrupted by a plurality of discontinuities ( 14   1  through  14   4 ) extending from the top surface to the bottom surface along the outer edge. Still further, the cleaning apparatus comprises a plurality of protrusions extending outward from the central portion, wherein each protrusion is located between two discontinuities in the plurality of discontinuities.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present embodiments relate to cleaning apparatus and are moreparticularly directed to such apparatus for removing deodorant, powderand particulates from fabric, such as clothing.

In the area of women's clothing by way of example, and particularly inhigher end shops and boutiques, customers typically desire to try onclothes prior to making a decision whether to purchase the clothing.However, often the customer will have earlier applied one or moregrooming materials, such as make-up, deodorant, or the like. Often thesematerials include at least in part some powder or other fine particlesubstances. As a result, and as seen long in the industry of sales ofsuch clothes, the powder or other fine particle substances on thecustomer may in part or in whole wipe off onto the clothing beingsampled, thereby presenting a modest or more prominent stain on theclothing. As a result, should the customer then decide not to purchasethe clothing being sampled, then the seller is left in the position ofthen having a potentially soiled item of clothing. Alternatively, if thecustomer purchases the sampled item, then they own the potentiallysoiled clothing item. Consequently, in either case, someone is then leftto attempt to remove the mildly staining material, where for the sellerthey must do so or otherwise risk losing a sale of the clothing to asubsequent customer or the buyer must do so as to avoid anyembarrassment and to render the clothing more usable.

In connection with the above, it has often been left to the clothingseller to devise a manner to remove, at least to the extent visible, thestaining material from the clothing or fabric at issue. Variouscommercially available cleaners could be sought in this regard.Additionally, one technique that has been known in the boutique industryis to remove a piece of the thin anti-static polyurethane foam materialthat is used by the dry cleaning industry as a pad between the top of agarment hanger and an item of cleaned clothing, and then to use thatfoam to gently rub against the above-described staining materials. Thisfoam has been found in some instances to remove the staining material,at least to the extent that is noticeably visible.

Presumably as a further evolution to the hanger material describedabove, a commercially available product is now being offered for sale inconnection with addressing the above-described problem, that is, toremove deodorant and the like from women's clothing. This productappears to be formed from the same anti-static foam as that used by thedry cleaning industry as a pad between the top of a garment hanger andan item of cleaned clothing. However, the product is cut in the shape ofa circular pad, with a thickness of 1.25 inches and a diameter of 3.0inches. It is believed that the density of this product is on the orderof 21 i.f.d. (“indention firmness deflection”).

While the preceding approaches have useful application, the presentinventors have discovered that they may be improved upon. Suchimprovements are borne out in the preferred embodiments, as discussedbelow.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the preferred embodiment, there is a cleaning apparatus for removinga substance from fabric. The cleaning apparatus comprises a foamsubstrate having a thickness between a top surface and a bottom surface,wherein an outer edge is defined along an exterior perimeter of thethickness. The cleaning apparatus also comprises a central portionhaving a continuous shape interrupted by a plurality of discontinuitiesextending from the top surface to the bottom surface along the outeredge. Still further, the cleaning apparatus comprises a plurality ofprotrusions extending outward from the central portion, wherein eachprotrusion is located between two discontinuities in the plurality ofdiscontinuities.

Other aspects are also disclosed and claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 a illustrates a plan view of the preferred embodiment cleaningapparatus 10.

FIG. 1 b illustrates a top view of the preferred embodiment cleaningapparatus 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 a illustrates a plan view of a cleaning apparatus 10 according tothe preferred embodiment. By way of introduction, cleaning apparatus 10is for use by a person so as to attempt to remove staining substancesfrom fabric by rubbing apparatus 10 against those substances. Lookingnow in more detail to the preferred embodiment, cleaning apparatus 10 isformed of a foam material and, thus, may be cut or other4wise formedfrom a foam substrate. Preferably, the foam has various attributes,which the present inventors have determined provide favorable successwhen attempting to remove items such as make-up, deodorant, and otherpowder or light particle-including substances from fabrics. As describedabove in the Background Of The Invention section of this document, suchsubstances are likely to be found on various fabrics in the form ofclothing at sales facilities, where one or more persons have previouslytried on the clothing and one or more substances have rubbed off fromthem onto the clothing. In any event, the foam implemented to formcleaning apparatus 10 preferably includes various attributes. As oneattribute, the foam preferably includes polyurethane but moreparticularly is treated with one of various known chemicals so as toincrease the density of the foam. More specifically, in the preferredembodiment, such treatment causes the polyurethane foam of cleaningapparatus 10 to have a density on the order of 50 i.f.d. (“indentionfirmness deflection”). As another attribute, the preferred embodiment isnot comprised of anti-static foam. As a result of one or more of theseattributes, the preferred embodiment has been found empirically toprovide success in removing offending materials from fabrics, and thedurability and longevity of the preferred embodiment is considered to beimproved over that of the prior art.

FIG. 1 b illustrates a top view of cleaning apparatus 10. From thisperspective as well as the plan view of FIG. 1 a, various additionalpreferred attributes may be observed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1a, preferably cleaning apparatus 10 includes a top surface 11 definedalong the substrate of foam material, where the foam has a thickness THthat extends from top surface 11 down to the bottom surface of apparatus10, where the bottom surface is not visible from the perspective ofFIGS. 1 a and 1 b. Further, an outer edge 13 is exposed along theexterior perimeter of thickness TH. The outer perimeter of apparatus 10includes a number of discontinuities, shown in FIG. 1 at 12 ₁ through 12₈. Each discontinuity represents a location where the shape of topsurface 11 is interrupted, and further each discontinuity preferablyextends from top surface 11 downward to the bottom surface, therebyextending through edge 13 of apparatus 10. Thus, in the illustratedembodiment, top surface 11 has a continuous curved shape, but thecontinuity of that shape is interrupted at each location of adiscontinuity. Also, in the illustrated and preferred embodiment,discontinuities 12 ₁ through 12 ₈ are achieved by forming cleaningapparatus 10 in the shape of a scallop, or it may be said to bescalloped. With the scalloping, cleaning apparatus 10 can be perceivedin general as having a centrally positioned generally circular sectionhaving an inner diameter ID, and extending outward from that circularsection are four protrusions 14 ₁, 14 ₂, 14 ₃, and 14 ₄; in other words,without the discontinuities and the protrusions, then apparatus 10 wouldpresent a circular shape. However, the preferred embodiment includesprotrusions 14 ₁ through 14 ₄, and each protrusion is generally formedbetween a pair of perimeter discontinuities, so that protrusion 14 ₁ islocated between discontinuities 12 ₁ and 12 ₈, protrusion 14 ₂ islocated between discontinuities 12 ₂ and 12 ₃, protrusion 14 ₃ islocated between discontinuities 12 ₄ and 12 ₅, and protrusion 14 ₄ islocated between discontinuities 12 ₆ and 12 ₇. Note that in analternative embodiment, an alternative central shape may be includedwith a number of protrusions extending from it.

Given the preferred and illustrated shape of apparatus 10, it ispossible for the width, W, from the top of apparatus 10 to extend beyondthat of the inner diameter, ID. Note also therefore that the overallconfiguration as now described permits the amount of surface area alongedge 13 to be greater than that which would exist if apparatus 10 werepurely circular with a same inner diameter ID. Further, with this shapeand geometric configuration, cleaning apparatus 10 is more easily heldby a user which thereby supports a more comfortable yet rigorouscleaning use with the device. In addition, in the preferred embodiment,cleaning apparatus 10 has a cross-sectional thickness, TH, along itsedge 13, that is preferably on the order of 0.75 inches. This preferredthickness is less than that of the earlier-described commerciallyavailable product, and it along with the device shape, as furtherfacilitated by protrusions 14 ₁, 14 ₂, 14 ₃, and 14 ₄, have proven morefavorable for using cleaning apparatus 10 to remove substances in moreconfined crevices, such as may exist between buttons or at interfaces ofone piece of fabric with another on a garment. Also in the preferredembodiment, width W of cleaning apparatus 10 is on the order of 3.0inches, again facilitating a favorable level of comfort and use in thehand of a person.

Given the preceding, preferably cleaning apparatus 10 is used by aperson so as to attempt to remove staining substances from fabric, suchas may be desired in various instances, including at sales locations oralso for personal use such as in the privacy of one's home. In anyevent, where a substance that includes at least in part some powder orother fine particles has become lodged on fabric, be it clothing orotherwise, the various attributes of the preferred embodiment permit auser to rub the offending substance with the preferred embodiment, inwhich case in a successful endeavor the substance will be at least inpart removed from the fabric. Such a use may be achieved with littleeffort and at a very modest cost, thereby saving the cost or futility ofadditional efforts to remove an undesirable stain from the fabric atissue.

From the above, it may be appreciated that the above embodiments provideuseful application in the field of removing various substances fromfabric and with various advantages over the prior art. Further, whilethe present embodiments have been described in detail, varioussubstitutions, modifications or alterations could be made to thedescriptions set forth above without departing from the inventive scopewhich is defined by the following claims.

1. A cleaning apparatus for removing a substance from fabric,comprising: a foam substrate having a thickness between a top surfaceand a bottom surface, wherein an outer edge is defined along an exteriorperimeter of the thickness; a central portion having a continuous shapeinterrupted by a plurality of discontinuities extending from the topsurface to the bottom surface along the outer edge; and a plurality ofprotrusions extending outward from the central portion, wherein eachprotrusion is located between two discontinuities in the plurality ofdiscontinuities.
 2. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the foamsubstrate comprises an indention firmness deflection on an order of 50.3. The cleaning apparatus of claim 2 wherein the thickness is on theorder of 0.75 inches.
 4. The cleaning apparatus of claim 3 wherein thecentral portion comprises a circular portion.
 5. The cleaning apparatusof claim 4 wherein the plurality of discontinuities consists of eightdiscontinuities.
 6. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1: wherein the foamsubstrate comprises a generally circular top surface and bottom surface;and wherein the foam substrate further comprises a plurality ofextensions extending from the generally circular top surface and bottomsurface.
 7. The cleaning apparatus of claim 6 wherein the plurality ofextensions consists of four extensions.
 8. The cleaning apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the foam comprises foam that is not anti-static foam. 9.The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the thickness is on the orderof 0.75 inches.
 10. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein thecentral portion comprises a circular portion.
 11. A method of removing asubstance from fabric, comprising: rubbing the substance with a cleaningapparatus, the cleaning apparatus comprising: a foam substrate having athickness between a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein an outeredge is defined along an exterior perimeter of the thickness; a centralportion having a continuous shape interrupted by a plurality ofdiscontinuities extending from the top surface to the bottom surfacealong the outer edge; and a plurality of protrusions extending outwardfrom the central portion, wherein each protrusion is located between twodiscontinuities in the plurality of discontinuities.